


The Blind leading the Blind

by octopus_fool



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Challenge: 13 Days for 13 Dwarves, Community: hobbit_kink, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Mother Hen Dori, Thorin Has No Sense Of Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2662379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopus_fool/pseuds/octopus_fool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ori gets lost on the market as a dwarfling, he turns to Thorin. Thorin tries to help as best he can, but unfortunately, that involves trying to find the way....</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Blind leading the Blind

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this prompt](http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/8478.html?thread=18542878) on the Hobbit kinkmeme.

The market place was as loud and bustling as always. Merchants called out to praise their goods, stalls with fruit, bread, fresh meat, pottery and iron wares beside each other in an ordered chaos. Dwarves and men from the Ered Luin and the surrounding areas mingled, each eager to find whatever they needed at the lowest possible price. 

Suddenly, Thorin felt something tug at his shirt. He turned around, almost expecting a clumsy pick-pocket. Instead, there stood a young dwarfling. The dwarfling was chewing on a strand of reddish hair nervously. His clothes looked were clean but had obviously seen quite a bit of wear, probably from several different owners.

“I’m sorry, can you help me please? I am lost. I was with Dori but he’s gone now,” The dwarfling chewed his lower lip.

“Can you remember where you last saw Dori?” Thorin asked, crouching down. He should be heading back to the inner town inside the mountains to start planning where to excavate new living quarters in the mountains for the ever growing settlement, but clearly, this was more important.

“I was walking behind him to the bread stand and turned around to look at the strange flowers one of the tall people was carrying. When I turned back, Dori was gone,” the dwarfling said, sounding more and more desperate.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find Dori,” Thorin said. “Was that the bread stand Dori was going to?” He pointed at the one close by.

The dwarfling shook his head, now clearly fighting against the tears. “No. I tried to find Dori and... and... and...”

“We’ll find him, and if I have to turn the entire town upside down.”

The dwarfling looked at Thorin with big eyes. “Like when I have too many things in my pocket and have to shake it out to find the last sweet?”

Thorin laughed. “A bit like that, yes. I’m Thorin by the way. What’s your name?”

“Ori.”

“Well Ori, let’s go see if we can find Dori at one of the bread stands. What does Dori look like? Two pairs of eyes often see more than just one.”

“He is shorter than you. His hair is like mine, but starting to go silver. He puts lots of fancy braids in it. I think he is wearing purple today.”

That was more than what Thorin had been expecting to get out of Ori. Fíli and Kíli didn’t have an eye for such details and Thorin was glad he wouldn’t have to go around looking at people’s weapons to find the right person.

“Let’s go then. Do you want to hold my hand so you don’t get lost again?”

Ori nodded and reached out his hand. 

 

As they approached the third bread stand, Ori tugged at Thorin’s sleeve. “That’s the stand where Dori usually buys his bread.”

Thorin looked around the crowd but couldn’t spot anybody fitting the description Ori had given him.

“I’ll ask the baker if she knows where Dori is. Tell me if you see Dori anywhere.”

The baker, a large dwarrowdam with red cheeks and even redder hair, smiled at Ori in recognition but looked confused to see Thorin accompanying him.

“Where is Dori?” She asked Ori. “Is he ill?”

Ori’s lip started wobbling and he buried his face against Thorin’s leg.

“That’s actually what we wanted to ask,” Thorin said, running a hand lightly over Ori’s head as he would have done with his nephews. “Ori got lost on his way here and we were hoping Dori might be here.”

The baker shook her head. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen Dori today.” 

Ori sobbed against Thorin’s leg. “He forgot about me!”

“Now that’s complete orc dung!” Ori looked up at the baker’s exclamation, so surprised to hear such strong language that he forgot to cry. “I’ve rarely seen anybody love their brother as much as Dori loves you!”

“I’m sure Dori is looking for you everywhere,” Thorin added. 

“Are you hungry?” the baker asked.

Ori nodded.

“Do you want a pastry?”

Ori hesitated, clearly torn. “Is there any green food in it?” he finally whispered.

The baker let out a big laugh. “No, don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe for little dwarflings who don’t like their greens.”

“I’d like one then, please,” Ori said happily.

The baker handed him a pastry and Thorin gave her a coin for it despite her protests.

“Please, I don’t want you to have additional costs because of this little adventure. Do you know where Dori lives?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately not. We do talk on the market, but we are not really friends.”

Ori hurriedly swallowed the huge bite he had been chewing. “Slate Alley 5, in the outer town,” he recited quickly.

Thorin smiled. He suddenly remembered how often he had had to recite Uncle Fundin’s address when he had been that age, because he had often gotten lost and saying he was Prince Thorin might have been dangerous.

“Well, that makes things easier. That’s the alley that leads off Coal Road, isn’t it?” he asked the baker.

She nodded.

“I’d best take him home then,” Thorin said. “If you see Dori, let him know.”

“Of course I will. See you, Ori!”

Ori said goodbye and they headed off. Finding Slate Alley shouldn’t be too difficult, Thorin told himself. He just had to turn onto Diamond Road, turn left once and right once at the right place to get onto Coal Road and then find the right turn onto Slate Alley.

 

“Did you know the king is also called Thorin?” Ori asked, cheerfully taking another bite of his pastry.

Thorin had to laugh. “Oh, is he?”

Ori nodded earnestly. “Yes, Dori makes sure I know my history. Are you named after him?”

Thorin shook his head. “No, but I’m named after an old king also called Thorin.”

Ori’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“Really. My father also liked history.”

“I don’t think I’d want to be called after one of the old kings. Their names all sound funny. Except Thorin of course. That one is nice because you are nice.”

Was that the fourth or the fifth road to the left they had just passed? Thorin vowed not to let himself be distracted again.

“I think it’s this way,” he said, leading Ori around the corner. Now, they would have to turn into the fourth on the right, if Thorin remembered correctly.

“Do you have children?” Ori asked, skipping slightly.

Road one, road two.

“No, but I do spend lots of time with my two nephews,” Thorin replied. Road two, road three.

“Maybe I can come and play with them sometime?” Ori asked hopefully. “I don’t have many friends because Dori is usually too busy in his restaurant to take me to the playground and I’m not allowed to go on my own yet.”

Road four. They rounded the corner, although the road was narrower than he remembered Coal Road being. Slate Alley ought to be the seventh alley on the right.

“I’m sure they would be happy to let you join in, even though they are a bit older. Do you like playing dragon and orcs?”

They passed the second alley, which looked more like a street than an alley to Thorin, but then, roads had never been terribly logical to him. Just counting them was usually the best method to get where he wanted to.

“I like drawing. Dori got me some coloured ink last week! But I’ve always wanted to play dragon and orcs.”

The road curved slightly and then came to an end at the back wall of a house. A grey cat glared at them with yellow eyes from beside a potted cabbage. They had only passed five alleys. 

“I don’t think this is right,” Thorin mumbled, uncomfortably aware of the cat’s glare. “We must have taken a wrong turn. But don’t worry, we’ll have it figured out in no time at all.”

He had probably miscounted on the four roads and the narrow road they had turned into really hadn’t been Coal Road after all. So to get to Slate Alley, they had to walk back the five alleys on their left and then they had to turn right like they did on the way there before turning into the next road on the right, or was it on the left? They would have to see when they got there.

Ori was talking happily again, telling Thorin about the pictures he had drawn with his new ink. “I drew a raven stealing a rainbow coloured crystal and Dori hung it up so everybody could see it.”

“And did the others compliment you on it as well?” Thorin asked distractedly, trying to keep the numbers of the alleys straight in his head. “Did your Amad like it?”

“I don’t have an Amad,” Ori said, and Thorin cursed himself for mentioning it when he had already figured that out himself. “It’s only me and Dori, and sometimes Nor-“ Ori clamped a hand over his mouth to stop the word. “It’s only me and Dori, I don’t have another brother.”

That sounded like there was definitely a story behind it, but Thorin didn’t want to go prying into a dwarfling’s family secrets, not when the dwarfling in question generally seemed well cared for.

“And Dori has a restaurant?” Thorin asked instead.

“Yes, he can cook the most wonderful things. But he does make me eat too much green food,” Ori shuddered.

They had reached the fifth alley on the left, so Thorin turned right like they had the first time. They must have walked one road too far, so that was one road back. And this time, they had to go into the alley on their left, because they were going the other direction, according to what his mother had always told him. 

This road looked wider than the other one, so Thorin led the way contentedly.

“Dori also loves teas and has many of them at his shop,” Ori told him happily. “He says it is the best collection north of Gondor. I don’t like most of the teas because they are too bitter, but Dori says that will change when I get older.”

Did they have to turn left or right next? Were they still going in the other direction or had they now turned into the original direction again? Thorin looked around. Maybe he would be able to tell from where the mountain peaks were.

That couldn’t be right. The mountain should have been on their left, not on their right. Thorin turned around a few times slowly, trying to figure out where to go. Then he realised he no longer knew where they had come from either.

Perhaps they should just go on straight ahead and they should end up on a road with people they could ask for the way.

Thorin realised Ori hadn’t said anything in quite a while. He smiled down at him in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

Ori frowned. “We’re lost, aren’t we?”

“A bit. But don’t worry.”

They walked on. 

“I think the place where Dori always plays cards is down that road,” Ori pointed. “I know where to go from there.”

“Alright, we’ll try that,” Thorin said. They were hopelessly lost anyway, giving it a try wouldn’t hurt.

Ori ran ahead, pulling at Thorin’s hand as they went further down the street. 

“There it is! That’s where Dori likes to play cards!” Ori said excitedly and pointed at one of the houses. “We have to go around that corner there.”

They hurried around the corner and down the road. At one corner, Ori halted.

“I’m not quite sure. Is it this road or the next?”

Thorin shrugged, completely without orientation. “I’m not sure. What do you think?”

Ori looked up at him. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re really not very good at this, are you?”

Thorin shook his head. “I’m afraid not, sorry.”

“I think it’s the next one,” Ori said and they walked on.

They hadn’t gone far when Ori turned around and beamed. Thorin was about to turn around as well when he felt a strong, dull impact on the back of his head and saw stars. Thorin hated stars. Much too elvish.

Through the haze of pain, Thorin could hear Ori.

“Dori! There you are!”

“Ori, are you all right?! Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I just got lost and then we got lost again.”

Thorin slowly tried to sit up, his head throbbing.

“You stay where you are! Going about kidnapping poor little dwarflings! The nerve you have!” Dori lifted his umbrella again.

“Please don’t hurt him!” Ori begged. “I looked at something on the market and when I turned around, I couldn’t find you. Thorin was helping me get home.”

Dori did a slight double take when he heard the name and saw Thorin’s face, then caught himself again. “I wouldn’t care if you were Durin himself! Anyone who kidnaps my little brother has to answer to me and don’t tell me any dragon crap about taking Ori home! You were coming from the opposite direction of the market!”

“I got lost,” Thorin whispered, his face burning with shame.

“What was that? Speak up, I can't hear you if you can’t get your words out of your beard.”

“I got lost,” Thorin ground out. “I swear to Mahal I was trying to take Ori back to his home, but...”

“He’s awful at finding the way,” Ori piped in. “We were at a dead end and had to double back, but we got even more lost. Then I saw the place where you play cards and I told Thorin where we had to go.”

“I meant no harm,” Thorin said, rubbing the back of his head. His skull seemed to be intact despite the force of the impact, but he would have a headache for at least a day. “Please believe me.”

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Dori asked Ori again.

Ori nodded. “We tried to find you at the market, but the baker said she hadn’t seen you. She gave me a pastry and I told Thorin where we live. Thorin tried to take me there, but we got lost. He was nice to me and never hurt me, I promise.”

“Alright then, you may get up,” Dori told Thorin and he picked himself off the cobbled street. 

“I really did not mean any harm. I just thought the best place to take Ori when we couldn’t find you was his home. I did not mean to make you worry any more than necessary. Please believe me.”

“Well, since Ori is unhurt, I forgive you,” Dori knelt down to brush some crumbs from Ori’s beard and whispered something to him.

“Really? Nori is looking for me too?” Ori asked, his eyes wide.

“Shush, you know what I told you about that,” Dori said, probably not realising it was just loud enough for Thorin to hear. “Let’s go.”

Holding Ori’s hand, Dori stood up and began walking away without another word to Thorin.

“Goodbye, Thorin! Thank you!” Ori called, turning around and waving at Thorin.

“Goodbye, Ori!” Thorin waved back.

Now if only he knew how to get back to the inner town....


End file.
